La Crosse TV anchor appeared on national morning shows to talk about bullying

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LA CROSSE - A morning TV news anchor in La Crosse was invited to go on the national morning shows today, after she responded on the air to a viewer who criticized her weight.

Jennifer Livingston addressed the subject for four minutes yesterday on WKBT. She said the viewer was being a bully by saying in an e-mail that she’s obese. Kenneth Krause wrote, “Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make,” and he urged her to quote, “Reconsider your responsibility to present and promote a healthy lifestyle.” Livingston said they exchanged some e-mails, but Krause wouldn’t back down from his assertion that she was a bad role model. The 37-year-old Livingston said she thought nothing of the man’s criticisms, because they’re part of the territory for a TV anchor. But she then thought of her children who may not be able to shrug off such criticisms so easily.

Her husband – TV anchor Mike Thompson – posted Krause’s note on his Facebook page, and Livingston said it resulted in over a thousand messages of support. She said many writers were bullied themselves, and they wished that someone had stood up for them. Livingston said her on-air criticism was less about Krause and more about bullying in general. Krause told the AP that his e-mails had nothing to do with bullying.

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